Between school, work and vacation, I haven't had time to play with my T3i much. There was a German car show this weekend so I went with my friends and had a little photo shoot. These are 12 of the 230 pics I took that day. Let me know what you guys think. This way my first time ever attempting rolling shots too. Oh, and these pics are straight from the camera, no editing at all.

Between school, work and vacation, I haven't had time to play with my T3i much. There was a German car show this weekend so I went with my friends and had a little photo shoot. These are 12 of the 230 pics I took that day. Let me know what you guys think. This way my first time ever attempting rolling shots too. Oh, and these pics are straight from the camera, no editing at all.

You've got a good eye. Thanks for not putting up the full 230 pix.

You need to add some color and contrast to a bunch of these. Simply pull the RGB curve down a tiny bit in the middle and bump up the contrast.

You might start shooting RAW now and use something like LightRoom or DxO to do your RAW conversion and adjust the color and contrast.

You need to add some color and contrast to a bunch of these. Simply pull the RGB curve down a tiny bit in the middle and bump up the contrast.

You might start shooting RAW now and use something like LightRoom or DxO to do your RAW conversion and adjust the color and contrast.

Dave

Thanks! And yeah, I didn't think everyone wanted to go through all those pics lol.

Thanks for telling me what exactly needs to be edited too. I have Aperture 3 on my MBP, so I'll play with the RGB and contrast tonight hopefully.

I was shooting on automatic mode. I need to figure out how to change the shutter speed. I read on here that you should shoot in TV mode with a set shutter speed. I need to learn my camera a little more.

Thanks! And yeah, I didn't think everyone wanted to go through all those pics lol.

Thanks for telling me what exactly needs to be edited too. I have Aperture 3 on my MBP, so I'll play with the RGB and contrast tonight hopefully.

I was shooting on automatic mode. I need to figure out how to change the shutter speed. I read on here that you should shoot in TV mode with a set shutter speed. I need to learn my camera a little more.

You MUST be aware of shutter speed and aperture and you can do that by shooting either Tv or Av modes, or, of course, shooting manual. I shoot Av, but always look at the SS in the viewfinder. If it's not where I want it, I raise or lower ISO or change f-stop. I like Av because I control DOF by managing the aperture.

When you go to RAW you'll gain a stop or two of dynamic range if you "expose right" (to the right of the historgram). If you expose as far to the right as possible without blowing out highlights, then you'll maximize the dynamic range and detail of your image, preserving as much shadow detail as possible. There are highlight warning lights that should be turned on because they'll blink in the preview LCD if you've blown out a highlight. When shooting Tv or Av or Automatic, you expose right, generally, by setting the EV at +. Generally +1/3 to +1EV is enough, but I use as much as +2EV in certain circumstances. If your blinkie warning lights go off, the lower EV and even go to -EV if there are whites in sunlight, etc.

I've never used Aperture, but lots of pros use it, so I think it's good and will do all the things we're talking about here. I use DxO Optics Pro because it's optimized for each of my lens/body combinations and corrects for the errors in my lenses, particularly zooms at wide angles. LightRoom does some of that, but not at every aperture and every focal-length like DxO.

i aint crap neither...my comment was just to say he's got a long way to go to replace the professional photographers with his mom's jewelry photos

i guess i was too harsh

both comments were completely different. one was an attack, the other an observation...

Any more pictures for us to review for you Silver?

Have you worked out your lighting yet?

Unfortunatly shooting in automatic mode doesn't let you choose where your camera is focusing, it thinks it knows better, so experiment lots with different focus points on your camera.

Center focus is always most acurate, however it can cause distortion if you focus on the point you want, then rotate the camera a lot to get it into the position you want, so make sure you shoot the focus point that is most appropriate. It will make a difference to your photos.

Also, try using the "rule of thirds" sometimes it feels a bit weird framing a photo that way, sometimes you'll get your best results and expression that way. (really works best with backgrounds) but when shooting your macro, you're going to be pretty centered. It all comes down to experimentation.

And like dave recommends, the best thing you can do overall, is use RAW images, you'll see how much of a difference in control over the image you will have.

I recommend shooting in Av mode as well, assuming I'm not shooting in Manual. The only time I would switch to Tv mode is at night sometimes or when shooting sports. Tv mode may be ok to use for rolling shots, but not necessary. I wouldn't use Tv mode for stationary cars though.

You MUST be aware of shutter speed and aperture and you can do that by shooting either Tv or Av modes, or, of course, shooting manual. I shoot Av, but always look at the SS in the viewfinder. If it's not where I want it, I raise or lower ISO or change f-stop. I like Av because I control DOF by managing the aperture.

When you go to RAW you'll gain a stop or two of dynamic range if you "expose right" (to the right of the historgram). If you expose as far to the right as possible without blowing out highlights, then you'll maximize the dynamic range and detail of your image, preserving as much shadow detail as possible. There are highlight warning lights that should be turned on because they'll blink in the preview LCD if you've blown out a highlight. When shooting Tv or Av or Automatic, you expose right, generally, by setting the EV at +. Generally +1/3 to +1EV is enough, but I use as much as +2EV in certain circumstances. If your blinkie warning lights go off, the lower EV and even go to -EV if there are whites in sunlight, etc.

I've never used Aperture, but lots of pros use it, so I think it's good and will do all the things we're talking about here. I use DxO Optics Pro because it's optimized for each of my lens/body combinations and corrects for the errors in my lenses, particularly zooms at wide angles. LightRoom does some of that, but not at every aperture and every focal-length like DxO.

Dave

That was extremely helpful! Thank you! I'm going to try it next chance I get to shoot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitekid2002

You mad?

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitekid2002

i aint crap neither...my comment was just to say he's got a long way to go to replace the professional photographers with his mom's jewelry photos

i guess i was too harsh

I'm not offended and I know I can't replace any professionals. I'm just trying to get the hang of it at the moment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The1

both comments were completely different. one was an attack, the other an observation...

Any more pictures for us to review for you Silver?

Have you worked out your lighting yet?

Unfortunatly shooting in automatic mode doesn't let you choose where your camera is focusing, it thinks it knows better, so experiment lots with different focus points on your camera.

Center focus is always most acurate, however it can cause distortion if you focus on the point you want, then rotate the camera a lot to get it into the position you want, so make sure you shoot the focus point that is most appropriate. It will make a difference to your photos.

Also, try using the "rule of thirds" sometimes it feels a bit weird framing a photo that way, sometimes you'll get your best results and expression that way. (really works best with backgrounds) but when shooting your macro, you're going to be pretty centered. It all comes down to experimentation.

And like dave recommends, the best thing you can do overall, is use RAW images, you'll see how much of a difference in control over the image you will have.

I do have more pictures from the car show that I can upload if you'd like to review those too. Actually, now that I think of it, there are a couple pictures I'd like an opinion on. I'll work on getting those uploaded tonight.

I haven't figured out my lighting yet. The only thing that is preventing me from doing so is time. When I get a chance to sit down and research it, I will because I don't really know much about it.

I also noticed that it's hard to focus it where you want in automatic mode. For example, when I was trying to take a picture of the car behind us using the rear view mirror, it would focus on the mirror itself. The one I posted is the only shot that I got in focus. And I think it probably could have been better.

I didn't know what the "rule of thirds" is until I googled it. It makes sense but does feel awkward shooting like that. I will definitely try that very soon.

I'm not sure how to shoot RAW images. Is that a setting on the camera? Sorry, I'm still noobish at this. Lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chewy734

I recommend shooting in Av mode as well, assuming I'm not shooting in Manual. The only time I would switch to Tv mode is at night sometimes or when shooting sports. Tv mode may be ok to use for rolling shots, but not necessary. I wouldn't use Tv mode for stationary cars though.

So from what I understand, Av and Tv mode give you more control over the settings. Av you can use to shoot pretty much anything and Tv can be used to shoot objects in motion.

AV and TV are both great ways to help you learn how the camera works without putting you in the deep end. P is also a good mode to shoot in. It is sort of a preset auto mode that you have some minor control over, but if you watch the aperture settings and the shutter speed settings, you'll get to know what affects will occur at different settings.

I think AV might be most helpful for you with shooting jewlery as you'll be messing with the depth of field a lot to get parts of the ring, or all of the ring in focus, but you're going to need a tripod, or at least something very steady to lean the camera against.

But overall, the top things i would recommend for you are:

Never ever shoot in automatic mode again as best as you can.

Put the camera in RAW (that's under the quality settings) or RAW and Jpeg

take the camera out of automatic focus and only choose what focus point you want

Take the ISO setting off of Automatic and put it where it needs to be, the camera makes up some interesting numbers sometimes.

do lots of reading on how aperture, ISO, and shutter speed work together

don't be afraid to ask questions or post pictures to get feedback, ignor rediculous comments and concentrate on constructive ones. It doesn't matter if a picture is good or bad, but what matters is how you can improve it.

So from what I understand, Av and Tv mode give you more control over the settings. Av you can use to shoot pretty much anything and Tv can be used to shoot objects in motion.

Well, Av and Tv give you more control than the Auto mode. In instances where you want to control the aperture or the shutter speed, you would use Av and Tv modes, respectively. You can use either, but it makes more sense to use Av for pretty much any shooting where you don't care about the shutter speed as much.

If you're shooting F1 racing, football, etc you want to make sure the objects are in focus and not blurred, so you may care about shutter speed. That's when you use Tv. If you're shooting non/slow-moving objects, assuming you have enough light, changing your shutter speed from 1/100s to 1/500s doesn't give you much. However, changing from f/11 to f/4 does. It all depends on your composition as well. Sometimes you want a small aperture if you want the background to be clear, but other times you want the background to be out of focus as much as possible, so you choose a wide open aperture.

This is just one of many parameters... you should also be thinking of DoF, focal lengths, ISOs, etc as well. It gets complicated, but start out simple and expand your knowledge by reading and with practice.

I don't see any need to switch from Av to Tv or vice versa when going from stills to fast. There's a direct relationship between the aperture and shutter speed and you can see it in the viewfinder. If you're in Av mode and want to raise the shutter speed, then you either increase the aperture or raise the ISO. The opposite happens in Tv mode. Just be aware and always look at your final settings in the viewfinder.

AV and TV are both great ways to help you learn how the camera works without putting you in the deep end. P is also a good mode to shoot in. It is sort of a preset auto mode that you have some minor control over, but if you watch the aperture settings and the shutter speed settings, you'll get to know what affects will occur at different settings.

I think AV might be most helpful for you with shooting jewlery as you'll be messing with the depth of field a lot to get parts of the ring, or all of the ring in focus, but you're going to need a tripod, or at least something very steady to lean the camera against.

But overall, the top things i would recommend for you are:

Never ever shoot in automatic mode again as best as you can.

Put the camera in RAW (that's under the quality settings) or RAW and Jpeg

take the camera out of automatic focus and only choose what focus point you want

Take the ISO setting off of Automatic and put it where it needs to be, the camera makes up some interesting numbers sometimes.

do lots of reading on how aperture, ISO, and shutter speed work together

don't be afraid to ask questions or post pictures to get feedback, ignor rediculous comments and concentrate on constructive ones. It doesn't matter if a picture is good or bad, but what matters is how you can improve it.

learn how to read a histogram (it kind of goes with the blinking highlights for usefull information)

If in doubt, take multiple shots of the same thing with different settings. choose witch you like most later, and learn from what settings you used for those photos.

If anyone can add to that, please do, that's just what i could do off the top of my head. I'll keep thinking for any i missed.

Thanks for clarifying things for me. I put the camera in RAW for future shoots. I need to do some research on ISO because I'm still unclear what exactly it does. I played with the camera tonight to familiarize myself with how to change shutter speed, ISO, etc. In my next post, I'm going to put up a few more pictures that I'm a little uncertain about.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chewy734

Well, Av and Tv give you more control than the Auto mode. In instances where you want to control the aperture or the shutter speed, you would use Av and Tv modes, respectively. You can use either, but it makes more sense to use Av for pretty much any shooting where you don't care about the shutter speed as much.

If you're shooting F1 racing, football, etc you want to make sure the objects are in focus and not blurred, so you may care about shutter speed. That's when you use Tv. If you're shooting non/slow-moving objects, assuming you have enough light, changing your shutter speed from 1/100s to 1/500s doesn't give you much. However, changing from f/11 to f/4 does. It all depends on your composition as well. Sometimes you want a small aperture if you want the background to be clear, but other times you want the background to be out of focus as much as possible, so you choose a wide open aperture.

This is just one of many parameters... you should also be thinking of DoF, focal lengths, ISOs, etc as well. It gets complicated, but start out simple and expand your knowledge by reading and with practice.

I understand the difference between Av and Tv now. I really appreciate the videos and the book (which I still need to finish reading) that you've given me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dcstep

I don't see any need to switch from Av to Tv or vice versa when going from stills to fast. There's a direct relationship between the aperture and shutter speed and you can see it in the viewfinder. If you're in Av mode and want to raise the shutter speed, then you either increase the aperture or raise the ISO. The opposite happens in Tv mode. Just be aware and always look at your final settings in the viewfinder.

Dave

I seem to have a general understanding of Av and Tv. But I really need to apply what I've learned and see how my photos come out. Maybe tomorrow I'll call up my friend and see if he'll let me shoot his car.

These first two shots are one of my favorites that I see other photographers do. I'm not sure which is the proper way to take it though. Holding the camera horizontal or vertical?IMG_0634 by dsaadeh, on FlickrIMG_0635 by dsaadeh, on Flickr

think of it like an amplifier, when it's nice and quiet, everything is crisp and clear, but as you turn the volume up, you still hear everything, but you sooner or later start to get distortion as you turn it up.

ISO sort of responds the same, the higher the sensitivity, the more noise it gets, but that being said, a lot of people are scared of noise when it really isn't something that we should worry about as much as we used to.

Generally you want it low, but if you need a higher shutter speed, but you want lots in focus, you're going to have to compensate for the slow shutter speed by raising the ISO so that in turn you can bring the sutter speed up.

ISO can be a good friend when you get used to using it.

Keep watching the Zach Aries videos, I believe he explains how they work in conjunction with eachother.

Dave/Dcstep shoots regularly at high ISO and I very very rarely notice noise in his photography. Part of that is because he shoots in RAW and part is because he has a great understanding of how to compensate for noise (amung other things) whie shooting in that format.

I won't be surprised if you see 20,000 shutter clicks before you're really comfortable with all the settings and it all becomes natural. Just shoot, and shoot, and when you think you're done shooting, shoot some more.

also since you're starting to shoot in RAW, i'm going to try and find a link for the codec so your computer can read RAW files so you don't have to worry about jpeg files.

I don't see any need to switch from Av to Tv or vice versa when going from stills to fast. There's a direct relationship between the aperture and shutter speed and you can see it in the viewfinder. If you're in Av mode and want to raise the shutter speed, then you either increase the aperture or raise the ISO. The opposite happens in Tv mode. Just be aware and always look at your final settings in the viewfinder.

Dave

Dave, that's true, they are related to one-another, and it's important to see your final settings before pressing the shutter. What I meant was that (for me) it's much easier to usually think of aperture than shutter speed in many instances. You shoot a photo of someone sitting indoors, lit with a lamp... do you think f/2.8 or 1/200s?

On the other hand, as someone previously posted some killer lightning shots... I'm thinking more about shutter speed (1-5s) as opposed to aperture (f/8+).